Feminist Criticism

Feminist criticism contests that literature is shaped by our attitude towards gender and our reading of it.

►What should I consider when using a feminist approach?
►Application Example
►For Further Exploration...

When taking a feminist approach to literature consider

the gender of the author and characters,
the issues that the characters are dealing with disregarding social and political views,
gender stereotypes that may be present in the text,
how women authors of the past have written,
how images of women have been written, and
reading, writing and interpreting the text as a woman would.

Application Example
You could use feminist criticism to analyze Hamlet by studying the roles of Gertrude and Ophelia. Consider the role that women played in society and in the home during the time Hamlet was written and performed.

For Further Exploration...

Clemson University's English Department offers a web page devoted to feminist literary criticism.
The Voice of the Shuttle website contains a large section on women's studies and feminist theory.
Vandergrift's feminist page offers current links to feminist pages that focus on different issues.

Kelly Stevens, 20 April 2004